Ontario has been experiencing a wave of unlicensed lotteries and potential scammers willing to go above and beyond to attract gullible individuals and scam them. Facebook is the place where these individuals are being contacted and tricked into participating in said lotteries, as the West Grey Police recently confirmed. A recent attempt at scamming a local has been reported, which sparked the conversation once more.
Nowadays life has transferred to the Internet and the various social media with all its opportunities for connecting people and entertaining them. Lotteries appear to have also made their way to the vast network of Facebook, however, with lax rules open to interpretation and no player protection. A recently reported successful attempt at scamming an individual was reported to the police.
Victims Should Report As Soon As Possible
Last week Facebook lottery scammers got in touch with an individual who had participated in their lottery. They made it clear that the player had won and subsequent actions would have to take place. This included him giving them his Facebook account credentials, as well as a copy of his driver’s license.
The local was told that this is a mandatory procedure that would guarantee that the cash prize goes to the individual it rightfully belongs to. The lottery enthusiast was convinced he is the actual winner and provided all needed information to the Facebook lottery, but upon further consideration, it dawned on him that he might have fallen prey to an Internet scam. Action had to be taken in a timely manner.
Once an individual has become a victim of a scam, it is a matter of quick reaction and immediate reporting to the authorities. The West Grey individual thought about his move and decided to contact the police, his bank, as well as Facebook’s support center. This is the most appropriate thing to do once a criminal had made an attempt at tricking you, especially if it has been a successful one.
Fake Lotteries Attempt Scamming
West Grey Police officers were quick to announce the occurrence, as it could help many people that have also fallen prey to the fraudulent scheme. The Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 is where anyone could report a scam despite its level of success and protect other people from suffering the consequences of it. It could be recalled that earlier this month the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario issued a warning.
It confirmed that the online space is more dangerous than ever and there are many lotteries operating on Facebook without legal permission to do so. Those operations lack a mandatory permit for operation issued by the Province of Ontario. In this sense, they are illegal and offer no protection to their players in case of an unfortunate event. It is possible that they have nothing to do with scamming.
However, without a permit, they are still considered illegal. Reports have shown that for the most part, such Facebook lotteries strive to attract as many individuals as possible. In response to this wave of concern, the law enforcement authorities would proceed to contact the individuals responsible for the lottery operation and ensure they are aware of the need for licensing when overseeing a game of chance.
